


Bitter Taste

by KisekiMa



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Enemies to Friends, Gen, Night Talks, Tea or Coffee conflict
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 15:19:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14215977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KisekiMa/pseuds/KisekiMa
Summary: Seruel and Sandalphon discover that they have much in common.





	Bitter Taste

_What an annoying brat! –_ Seruel thought, trying to remain calm. He couldn’t find better words to describe this guy.

Sandalphon, who had joined them after the incident in Canaan, tried hard to not truly become a part of the crew. He used to fight alone, running recklessly towards even the strongest enemies, attacking them head-on, getting wounded and smashing everything with his overpowered counterattacks. Sometimes he ended up battered badly, sometimes he did not even care if his allies get hurt in the process. It was childish, but also dangerous for the entire party.

Seruel trusted Djeeta and never complained to her for punishing them with such a troublesome companion, but he couldn’t just silently ignore his foolish actions. He did not believe that words would be enough to correct Sandalphon’s behavior, but he still felt obliged to educate the newbie.

“You did it again. You keep exposing the rest of us, especially Captain, to unnecessary danger.”

“Nonsense,” Sandalphon replied with his usual insolent smile. “Don’t try to blame me for your incompetence. It’s not my fault that you can’t keep up with me.”

The former prince of Irestill was not the easy one to provoke with such obvious mockery. He frowned, but managed to hide other signs of irritation.

“It’s not a contest or a race,” he explained so gently that it sounded like an insult rather than lecture. “This is about cooperation. You know that you won’t survive long without a team. But as a part of one, you must obey the rules.”

“Oh? You mean YOUR orders?” A dangerous light appeared in the eyes of the new supreme primarch. “You used to look down at people, treating them like your subjects, but it won’t work with me.”

“I’m… certainly not.” Although he tried hard to hide it, Seruel seemed shaken. _Am I really trying to dominate the crew?_

“First ordering around, now lying to yourself. That’s not very royal, you know? You’re should be ashamed, not getting angry at me to hide your own mistakes.”

“That was one word too many.” Seruel frowned again, fighting the urge to draw his sword.

“You want to pick up a fight?” Sandalphon openly tightened the grip on his weapon’s hilt.

“Don’t be silly. I wouldn’t call beating the stupidity out of you ‘a fight’.”

“You…”

“Hey, hey!” Vyrn must have been observing them for a while and now decided to intervene, a little panicked. “You’re not serious about fighting, are you?”

“Phalanx!” Djeeta was suddenly between them, although she did not cast the spell, only imitated the movement of the sword. “Please, we have a mission to accomplish. We should discuss this later, ok?”

“Forgive me, Captain. It won’t happen again.” Seruel tried to not look at Sandalphon, who muttered something similar to ‘Nonsense!’, then turned on his heel and walked away.  “Captain? Do I really… give orders to the crew and… such?”

“I guess it can’t be helped.” Djeeta smiled to him apologetically. “It’s in your blood, Seruel. We got used to it. It’s reassuring to have you around, your charisma helps us in difficult moments. Lyria even finds it cute.”

“Oh.”

That was unexpected. Complaining while Seruel himself had no reason to be proud of his own behavior was… inappropriate. It seemed that he had a lot to think over.

 

* * *

 

As expected, Seruel couldn’t sleep at night, too focused on overthinking everything that had happened recently, and some things that did not even happen yet.

“It’s pathetic,” he sighed to himself eventually and decided to make some tea. There was no better thing to calm him down.

It wasn’t unusual for the members of Grandcypher crew to visit kitchen at night. Even Seruel used to, just like tonight, sit there alone, sipping his favorite tea, thinking of home and of a certain knight he missed so much. He tried not to bother anyone with his escapades too often, though, especially Lowain, who guarded his workplace as fiercely as mother hydra defends her nest.

Seruel was about to enter the kitchen, when a characteristic, bitter smell hit his nostrils.

 _Is it coffee? So I’m not the only one who’s having a sleepless night_ , he thought and smiled to himself. _It_ _would be nice to have company and concentrate on small talk for a while..._

“Or not,” he corrected himself inside, facing the only person in the crew he would rather not talk to, tonight or ever.

Sandalphon looked equally surprised and even more annoyed than Seruel. They froze for a moment, not sure what to do.

Leaving the room was too childish, for both of them. No, if it’s war, then they should hold the ground at all cost.

 _Wait, what am I thinking?_ Seruel shook his head in disbelief. He did not realize that this primal annoys him so much. No, he needs to stay calm, be kind, this is the only way to resolve their stupid conflict.

 _I can pretend he’s not even here. As a final option, of course_.

Sandalphon had already chosen to ignore the intruder and focused on his task. His movements were precise and gentle, the complete opposite of his typical behavior on the battlefield.

“What?” – he asked suddenly, feeling Seruel’s intense gaze on his forehead. “There’s something on my face?”

“No.” The erune prince stayed calm and kind, just like he promised to himself. “But I must admit that it’s surprising to see you so focused. You seem rather hasty on the battlefield.”

“Really? And you’re so stiff that I wonder which one of us is really 2000 years old.”

A moment of awkward silence.

“That wasn’t very nice,” Seruel said at last, carefully selecting the best leaves for his ideal tea.

“Didn’t suppose to be.”

“Hmmm.”

“Hmpfff.”

They both fell silent, awkwardly tensed at the opposite sides of the table. Surprisingly their moves and expressions were strangely similar. It was clearly much more than an act of preparing tea or coffee – something closer to ritual than anything else. Relaxing, somehow even purifying, like art or special kind of meditation.

“You’re not bad,” Sandalphon said suddenly; his cup already full of hot black liquid. “I’ve never suspected that tea can smell like this.”

“It’s a special recipe,” Seruel answered, with a warm, longing smile. “My friend used to brew it for me, mine is not even half as good as his.” He noticed a strange shade that came across Sandalphon’s face. Was it shock? Or understanding? Why? “Yours smells so bitter I would think twice before giving it a try.”

“Well, no one will ever ask you to.” Sandalphon’s smirk was annoying like always, but this time no sign of mockery remained in his eyes.

“I don’t mind sharing mine with you.”

“How noble of you.” Sandalphon chuckled. “Unfortunately I’m not interested.”

“Predictable.”

“Nonsense.”

Somehow they ended up sitting together, slowly sipping their drinks. The silence between them was deep, but not as tensed as before.

“I’ve never expected to meet a mortal with such understanding for tea ceremony.”

“I’ve never expected to meet a primal with such understanding for coffee ceremony.”

Something cracked again. Seruel wondered if the fact, that they spoke the same thing at exactly the same time, was irritating or just funny.

_Whatever, it’s still better than silence._

“Actually not the tea itself is important to me,” he started, staring into the cup in his hand. “Although its taste brings back memories, it’s still not all that truly matters. Preparing it properly is like a tribute to my friend. Almost like he’s with me in this room again...” He sighed. “It doesn’t sound reasonable, I know. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Seruel stood up, trying to leave, but Sandalphon’s voice made him freeze halfway.

“No. I mean yes. It is. Actually, I understand. It means the same to me. A memento of someone really important.”

Seruel only nodded and got back to his room. There wasn’t anything good enough to say. Words were not needed, they both understood it.

Sandalphon, now alone in the quiet kitchen, took the last sip from the cup and frowned, utterly surprised. Somehow – was it even possible? - his coffee tasted  less bitter than a moment ago.

 

* * *

 

“Annoying brat.”

“Boring old geezer.”

“Here they go again.” Albert shook his head. He did not even bother to draw the sword. When Seruel and Sandalphon fought like this – back to back, like a shiny but deadly tornado of blades and light – joining them was simply useless.

Djeeta missed the moment when the two stopped competing and started cooperating, but she did not complain. Not at all. Their little conflict affected all the crew, so she was glad that’s already over.

“Being more than 2000 years old and still a brat sounds like an achievement, don’t you think?” Three grotesque creatures disappeared, touched by the rays of light summoned by Sandalphon.

“Nonsense.” Seruel nonchalantly swung his sword, cutting a nasty monster in half. “We’re not going to argue which one of us failed more, are we?”

“That would be childish.”

“Exactly.”

The primarch spread his wings and raised into the air to launch his final attack. At the same moment Seruel attacked from the surface. Monsters were trapped between two explosions, having no chance to escape. The fight was over in seconds, literally.

“I told you we should have brought some snacks, Djeeta.”

Albert tried hard not to laugh at loud at Vyrn’s comment, but failed, just like everyone else.

 

* * *

 

“At first I thought that you’re just another spoiled aristocrat, who likes ordering people around,” Sandalphon admitted once. Somehow their little ‘afternoon tea and coffee’ parties became a daily routine. “Then I realized that it’s not your fault to be so shiny and supreme. It reminded me of a certain person, who was very important to me. He was always above the others, but tried hard to not intimidate them.”

“I was sure that you’re arrogant and reckless.” Seruel smiled. “But I was wrong. You want to be useful to others, that’s why you risk your own life without second thought. Just like a certain knight, a close and very important friend of mine.”

“Let’s honor them with a drink then. Are you ready?”

“Of course.”

And they exchanged cups.

 _Lucifer…_ Sandalphon tasted the tea and froze at the unexpected sensation.

 _Naoise_ … Seruel bravely swallowed the dark liquid.

“It’s awful,” Sandalphon admitted after a moment of heavy silence.

“Ah, I think I’d rather prefer something less bitter.” Seruel chuckled, shaking his head.

But they both drank everything to the last drop.

“I still don’t get it.” Lowain stared at them with a strange expression. “Guys, why are you doing this anyway? I can feel your suffering by just looking at you. And it’s not the first time… Why to drink something so distasteful?”

“Because,” both Seruel and Sandalphon replied as one “it was prepared for me by a very important person.”


End file.
